Mo Pop returned to West Riv-
erfront Park for its seventh year
this July, this time bringing two
of music’s most acclaimed acts to
headline: Vampire Weekend and
Tame Impala. This year’s edition
also brought some of the indus-
try’s fastest-rising stars to Detroit,
with singers and bands like Yel-
low Days, Goth Babe, Roy Blair
and Tiny Moving Parts taking the
stage.
Vampire Weekend headlined
Saturday night, putting on a mind-
blowing,
passion-filled
perfor-
mance. Their seven-member suite
played more instruments than I
could count — I lost track when
the bongos came out. The crowd
bobbed to the groove of “Sun-
flower,” and the dancing stretched
from the front row back to the tech
booth as “This Life” captured the
summertime vibe of Mo Pop. Ezra
Koenig made for a more dramatic
and impressive live singer than I
ever could have imagined in the
studio version of “Harmony Hall.”
His ethereal vocals enchanted the
festival after the sun went down
and the stars began shining, both
literally in the sky and metaphori-
cally as Vampire Weekend rocked
out onstage.
Hearing old hits like “Oxford

Comma” and “A-Punk” reminded
me that the band is really from
before my time. I was especially
reminded of it when Koenig gave a
shout out to everyone in the crowd
who came to their first Michi-
gan performance in Ann Arbor
in 2007. A group of festival-goers
beside me from the University all
turned to each other and smiled in
mutual understanding — we were
doing multiplication tables and
watching Spongebob when Vam-
pire Weekend first came to our
current home.
Closing out the festival Sun-
day night was Tame Impala, who
drew the biggest crowd I’ve ever
seen, stretching from the stage
across half the length of the fes-
tival grounds. Kevin Parker and
his team of live performers took
the stage in grandeur, launching
confetti into the sky over the audi-
ence as they whirled and reeled
to a harmonious clatter of instru-
ments. Just as the performance
was teeming with trippy imag-
ery, Parker himself sounded like
he was tripping: “Great, this is
good, I feel good,” he said between
laughs. “There’s a bug in my drink
… it’s a Detroit bug … it’s good for
you.” Between songs, a fan in the
crowd screamed, “SEND ME,
KEVIN!” and Kevin answered his
call by playing “Let It Happen.”
Let it happen we did.
Tame Impala live is an experi-
ence worlds apart from the stu-

dio version. While the main beats
of each song remained, all of the
tracks were stretched and warped,
making for a hazy, dream-like ren-
dition of Parker’s peerless produc-
tion. Arms waving, hips swinging
and heads bobbing, the crowd was
spasmodic from start to finish.
Motor City and all its visitors may
have never been mesmerized so.
The headliners took the stage at
night, but smaller acts made waves
while the sun was still up. Alec
Benjamin paid homage to Detroit’s
own Eminem, singing a rendition
of “Stan” infused with Benjamin’s
sadboy energy. J.I.D. honored his
forebears, playing A Tribe Called
Quest’s “Scenario” as a lead into
“EdEddnEddy.” The Story So
Far had a nonstop moshpit and
more crowdsurfers than security
could keep up with. And Wallows
rocked the river stage, although
the
“scrawny
motherfucker(s)
with the cool hairstyle(s)” had
only mediocre hairstyles at best.
Country music also graced
Mo Pop. Chicago band Whit-
ney rocked their set for a fervid
crowd, impressive for a last-min-
ute addon, taking Noname’s place.
Caamp brought the rawest of folk
energy, beginning their set with
only guitar, bass, and banjo. At
one point, a man walked on stage
and lead singer Taylor Meier said,
“This is my friend Joe. He’s gonna
play piano.” Sure enough, Meier’s
friend Joe played piano.

Among all the acts, it was clear
who really ran Mo Pop: the women.
Queer icons like King Princess,
Siena Liggins and Lindsey Jor-
dan (of Snail Mail fame) were the
greatest stars and brought power-
ful performances. Kali Uchis and
Ella Mai, R&B’s reigning queens,
took
listeners
through
soulful
journeys of heart-
break and love.
Their supporting
bands
brought
a new intensity
to
their
music,
revealing emotion
and
spirit
that
could only be felt
live. There was
no doubt that this
year, women were
the ones running
shit.
To that end, It
was Lizzo who
took the crown at
Mo Pop 2019. There was nothing
she couldn’t do: Singing, danc-
ing, butt shaking and flute play-
ing, she performed with all her
heart before pouring it out to the
audience, talking about visiting
her family during her return to
her hometown of Detroit. As she
described the feeling of seeing her
face on a billboard overlooking the

city, she came to the verge of tears,
and so did many listeners around
me (myself included). In her “spe-
cial discount,” Lizzo declared
everybody in the audience, no mat-
ter their shape or size, was blessed
to be a thick bitch for the duration
of her performance. Between all
the body positiv-
ity and embrac-
ing who you are,
Lizzo made Mo
Pop a celebration
of self love.
Mo Pop 2019
made for a hot
girl
summer
to
remember.
The
festival
is
unique in that all
performers
go
back-to-back
on
alternating stages,
so
festival-goers
don’t
have
to
miss a single set.
It exposes listen-
ers to music they may never have
listened to before — I saw many
of the same people getting down
to hip hop before singing along
to country, grooving to R&B as
hard as they moshed to pop punk.
There wasn’t just something for
everybody; everything was for
everybody. But Mo Pop was for the
ladies, most of all.

7
ARTS

Thursday, August 1, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Between
all the body
positivity and
embracing who
you are, Lizzo
made Mo Pop
a celebration of
self love.
At Mo Pop Festival 2019,
women run the program

CHESTER PINK FOR MO POP

DYLAN YONO
Summer Senior Arts Editor

FESTIVAL COVERAGE